January 2019 Book Birthdays: 8 Books

Welcome to a new monthly installment! This originated as an anticipated new release list for the first half of 2019 but it was way too long, so I cut it down to the first quarter of 2019, and then I ultimately decided it was just more manageable for me to do this at the beginning of each month! This way it’s fresh in my mind and all the covers will be released and it will just be overall pleasant for everyone involved!

I have six books on this list ranging from middle grade, young adult, to adult (with the majority being YA this month). I am beyond excited for all of these books!

I’ve set this post up with the book, a simplified summary from Goodreads, and a short note about the book. Cover photos are linked to their Goodreads page!

(These dates reflect US releases.)

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart (January 8)

 Five years. That’s how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It’s also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns that the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished―the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box―she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days…without him realizing it. 

Ok so I was completely enamored by this cover but briefly skimming the dozens of 5-star ratings has me convinced that I absolutely need this. I’m probably going to cry reading it, but what else is new!!

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal (January 15)

When an invitation arrives to the biggest wedding their small town has seen in years, Mrs. Binat, excitedly sets to work preparing her daughters to fish for rich, eligible bachelors. On the first night of the festivities, Alys’s lovely older sister, Jena, catches the eye of Fahad “Bungles” Bingla, the wildly successful–and single–entrepreneur. But Bungles’s friend Valentine Darsee is clearly unimpressed by the Binat family. Alys accidentally overhears his unflattering assessment of her and quickly dismisses him and his snobbish ways. As the days of lavish wedding parties unfold, the Binats wait breathlessly to see if Jena will land a proposal–and Alys begins to realize that Darsee’s brusque manner may be hiding a very different man from the one she saw at first glance.

Things I am trash for: Pride and Prejudice retellings and weddings. I haven’t seen this book floating around at all but I am so hyped!!

Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills (January 15)

For Sophie, small-town life has never felt small. She has the Yum Yum Shoppe, with its famous fourteen flavors of ice cream; her beloved marching band, the pride and joy of Acadia High (even if the football team disagrees); and her four best friends, loving and infuriating, wonderfully weird and all she could ever ask for. Then August moves in next door. A quiet guy with a magnetic smile, August seems determined to keep everyone at arm’s length. Sophie in particular. Country stars, revenge plots, and a few fake kisses (along with some excellent real ones) await Sophie in this hilarious, heartfelt story.

This is one of those summaries that I read once and immediately knew I was going to love it. I haven’t read a single Emma Mills book yet despite owning one and having multiple others on my TBR, so maybe this will be my introduction!

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (January 15)

There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplant—even her own family. And #61: Because her family is always being put out of their house, belongings laid out on the sidewalk for the world to see. What’s not so regular is that this time they all don’t have a place to crash, so Genesis and her mom have to stay with her grandma. It’s not that Genesis doesn’t like her grandma, but she and Mom always fight. But things aren’t all bad. Genesis actually likes her new school; she’s made a couple friends, her choir teacher says she has real talent, and she even encourages Genesis to join the talent show. But how can Genesis believe anything her teacher says when her dad tells her the exact opposite? How can she stand up in front of all those people with her dark, dark skin knowing even her own family thinks lesser of her because of it?

This is a 400 paged middle grade novel that I will probably cry my way through. I love middle grade and I love serious and heavy middle grade so I’m really excited to try this debut!

The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh (January 22)

Seventeen-year-old Lacey Burke is the last person on the planet who should be doling out sex advice. For starters, she’s never even kissed anyone, and she hates breaking the rules. Up until now, she’s been a straight-A music geek that no one even notices. All she cares about is jamming out with her best friends, Theo and Evita. But when Lacey sees first-hand how much damage the abstinence-only sex-ed curriculum of her school can do, she decides to take a stand and starts doling out wisdom and contraception to anyone who seeks her out in the girls’ restroom. But things with Theo become complicated quickly, and Lacey is soon not just keeping everyone else’s secrets, but hers as well.

This sounds exactly like the light-hearted YA romcom I’ve been craving and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (January 29)

Max: Gay and not a big deal, not to him, not to his mom, not to his buddies. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn’t want to think about, ever. Jordan: Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won’t like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he’s the only one who can keep the family from falling apart. Throw in a rickety, 1980s-era food truck called Coq Au Vinny. Add in prickly pears, cloud eggs, and a murky idea of what’s considered locally sourced and organic. Place it all in Mesa, Arizona, in June, where the temp regularly hits 114. And top it off with a touch of undeniable chemistry between utter opposites.

Friends listen, I have a soft rule about never reading books that are set in summer like, not in summertime, so I will most likely buy this in January and then wait to read it until the weather gets warm. This honestly sounds so good I can’t wait to fall apart while reading it!!!

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (January 29)

Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer. But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.

This was already on my radar, but when the author took to Twitter saying the inspiration for this book came from when the author’s daughter came out and her daughter became “her hero” I just had to support this. I mean 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (January 29)

Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war—and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried—and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.

Yeah I’m fine. I’m fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Not like I’ve been thinking about this every day or anything.

What are some of your most anticipated new releases for January?? There are so many great books books coming out this month that it was hard to narrow them down!

PS: Also, if you’re in the NYC area and would like to come to Leigh Bardugo’s signing with me at The Strand on Jan 29 please let me know! Some plans fell through so now I have an extra ticket and before I offer it to my friends who haven’t read any of her books, I figured I’d open it up to someone else who would be more excited about it, especially since it’s now sold out. The ticket I have is for the talk and signing but does not include a book purchase. Also it’s under my name and there’s no way to switch (I’ve called and asked) so we’d have to walk in together. If you’re cool with all of that please let me know! I don’t want it to go to waste!! (Don’t worry about money, I already paid for it!)